And so we begin. The Coliseum is ready. Are you?

5:42 pm: On the whistles tonight: Timmy Higgins, Karl Hess and Mike Roberts. Uh-huh. Listen, with Truck and Mazzulla playing, if we don’t see a Higgins block shuffle, then I’ve lost my grasp of this game.

5:58: Travon Woodall, who was doubtful, will start. He’d be the top point guard behind Ashton Gibbs.

6:40: Gold unis tonight. WVU is 2-1 in that get-up. WVU is also 0-0 on Monday.

6:43: Huggins with the grey warm-up. Interesting deviation.

6:54: Pitt’s pregame dance/huddle is perhaps the most elaborate and prolonged I’ve ever seen.

6:57: …student section is especially spry tonight.

6:59: Same starting five, but more important than that, WVU tweaks the pregame and opts for some Phil Collins and “In the Air Tonight” to make this night special. I don’t see Holgorsen anywhere. Just saying …

8:16: In case the absence wasn’t completely obvious, there are Internet problems on press row tonight … and this time, it’s not just me. This is the first time it’s worked since the tip.

8:19: Deniz with the worst turnover of the season and Huggins subs Jones out for Cam. The lineup is Mazzulla, Casey, Flowers, Cam and Kilicli and Pitt dunks on a putback to go up 37-33. Critical moment here.

8:21: Pitt scores in transition and Huggins calls a timeout with 12:33 to go.

8:23: Panthers are 7-for-11 this half with 10 points in the paint and six second-chance points. WVU has three offensive rebounds the entire game and two are TEAM rebounds. This is going precisely the way the Mountaineers don’t want it to go.

8:25: Jones misses one and makes one at the foul line, where he’s 1 for his past 10.

8:26: Hey! An offensive rebound. Jones scores after Truck misses a layup in transition. The Panthers require a timeout. It’s 39-36.

8:28: Pitt creates an opening for Dante Taylor and Flowers fouls. That’s No. 4 and he’ll go to the bench with 11:17 remaining. By the way, Taylor didn’t play Saturday and it was explained to me it was a strategic move to give his knees a rest. He’s a sophomore. And he’s played more than 20 minutes twice this season and never more than 22.

8:37: Got a good lather going now and finally some back-and-forth action. The teams split 10 possessions with scores and Dalton Pepper made a pair of 3s … which is twice as many as the rest of his teammates and two more than Pitt. Turk goaltends in transition and we’re at 49-46 with 7:39 on the clock.

Pitt has points on 14 of 17 possessions — exceptions are two turnovers and a miss.

8:41: Here we go now. Pepper and Dante Taylor — who minutes earlier bumped Tim Higgins — exchange holiday greetings. The officials confer to see who did what, if anything, and the students chime in with a chant aimed at Jamie Dixon.

8:44: Pitt gets a 3 after starting just 0-for-4 and it’s a big one. Pushes the lead to 54-48 before Mazzulla is fouled and goes 2-for-2 at the line.

8:48: Barring overtime, WVU ain’t scoring or allowing 70 tonight.

8:51: That was a text I received at halftime. Forgot to clarify in my haste. And, really, who would have thought that wouldn’t be the case?

8:53: Both teams shooting 60 percent this half.

8:56: Pitt comes out of the timeout and plays zone and WVU couldn’t solve it.

8:57: Mike Roberts makes history and simultaneously calls a carry on a player sliding 12 feet with the ball and a travel. Nice job.

8:58: Wannamaker and Brown making a lot of plays on the bounce. Big difference in the game. It’s 63-58 with 1:52 to go and a lot of people are leaving the game. I’d like to add they’re all seated close to the floor.

9:00: Brown with another and-one and WVU counters with a sloppy and disorganized possession and a missed 3 by Mitchell. Woodall goes 1-for-2 for a 67-60 lead and that ought to do it.

9:08: Final tonight: 71-66. WVU is outscored 42-24 in the paint and outrebounded 40-26. The Mountaineers had seven offensive rebounds — five by Jones and two by TEAM. Pitt had 18 offensive rebounds and two players with five. WVU has been outrebounded in four of five Big East losses and by 10, 10, 12 and now 14.